Slighlty chewy medium body with an excellent balance of barrel character, smoke, peaty whiskey and dark roasted malt. Pretty intense with great smoke and whiskey flavor dominating throughout. Couldn't pick up port in the nose but it makes an appearance here with subtle sweetness. Hints of toasted oak and vanilla with great whiskey flavor that doesn't give off any heat. The high ABV is invisible. Underneath the barrel and smoked whiskey there is a nice roasted malt character with some burnt toast, dark chocolate, coffee and oatmeal. Well balanced and very easy to drink. Delicious. (1,037 characters)

Brewed for the 2012 BOREFTS festival at De Molen in Bodegraven. PIcked up a bottle from the shop to drink at home. Cheers!

From a bottle into a snifterBottled 7 September 2012Apparently this beer is "stout-ish"

APPEARANCE: A thick black pour yields a very delayed, cascading, light, wispy film and bubbly head. The film comes and goes very quickly. Thick, thick body with no carbonation evident. No film or ring remain; beer ends up looking flat by the half way point. Really, really thick body, but lousy head.

SMELL: Lots of bouwmore barre, wood, dark chocolate, molasses and some smoky, peat notes on the nose. Very woody, with lots of peaty smoke and chocolate aromas, as well as vanilla and caramel. Big, bold nose.

TASTE: Oak, vanilla and peaty, smoky wood up front, with lots of barrel and stout flavors after the swallow. Peaty wood, roasted and burnt malts, as well as sweet molasses and bitter dark chocolate. Vanilla and caramel sweetness, as well as more smoky, peated malts linger on the palate. Bold and lingering finish, with a nice balance between the barrel and base stout. Great stuff, and not nearly as boozy as I had expected.

PALATE: Medium body, oily, with lower levels of carbonation. Almost flat, unfortunately, but just a touch of carbo makes it beer like. Goes down silky and oily, no real bite, and finishes sticky on the palate. Could use a little more weight and carbonation, as this is just a touch watery for the style.

OVERALL: Loved the flavors in this one. The stout was excellent and the bouwmore barrel added just the right amount of peat flavors to make this really enjoyable. A touch more carbo would make this a world class beer for sure, but as it stands now, it is still a delicious treat. Recommeneded. (1,758 characters)